Published: 13 Aug 2024

CRP is a protein that your liver makes.
Your liver releases more CRP into your bloodstream if you have inflammation in your body. Chronic infections, certain autoimmune disorders, and other diseases can cause harmful chronic inflammation. Inflammation can be acute (sudden) and temporary. Chronic inflammation can also happen if your tissues are repeatedly injured or irritated, for example from smoking or chemicals in the environment.
A CRP test can show whether you have inflammation in your body and how much. But the test can't show what's causing the inflammation or which part of your body is inflamed.This type of inflammation is usually helpful. For example, if you cut your skin, it may turn red, swell, and hurt for a few days. Those are signs of inflammation. A c-reactive protein test measures the level of c-reactive protein (CRP) in a sample of your blood. Inflammation can also happen inside your body.
If inflammation lasts too long, it can damage healthy tissues. High levels of CRP may mean you have a serious health condition that causes inflammation.
Inflammation is your body's way of protecting your tissues and helping them heal from an injury, infection, or other disease. Normally, you have low levels of c-reactive protein in your blood. This is called chronic (long-term) inflammation.

Sometimes, even if all the results do come back normal, you may be left with a nagging doubt on what the abnormality was in the first place. Sometimes, based on the blood test results and the extent of the illness if any your doctor will come up with a treatment programme. For children, a cream based anesthetic is rubbed onto the spot so that the pain from the needle is minimal. A small sample of your blood is drawn. This is generally taken from a nerve in the middle of your elbow. Blood tests are normally done by haematology department in the hospital or diagnostic center. Once you do have the results and you are unsure of what they mean, make sure you speak to the doctor again. This helps prevent children from developing a fear of blood tests. For some people, the nerve at this point does not really show and that's when blood is drawn from the wrist. Everyone takes a blood test at some point in their life. This is where the doctor will be able to make you understand what could have gone wrong to begin with. When this happens, its best to talk to the doctor and understand why these tests have been recommended for you.